The Ursuline Update Archive

This Week's Calendar

• There will be no aftercare for T2-7th grades today, Friday, December 19, and the front office will close at Noon.

• This is the last issue of the Ursuline Update for 2025! You will receive the next issue on Friday, January 9, 2026.

• There will be NO SCHOOL on Monday, January 19, for Lily House-12th Grade Students for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

UA families, please note that we have updated the 2025-2026 Parent-Student K-12 Handbook to include information about our new over-the-counter delivery process (see pages 59-60) and about Artificial Intelligence (AI) misuse for 5th-12th-grade students (see pages 41 and 45). You can always access the handbook on our website or on Blackbaud.

Experience the ultimate comfort with our uniform sweatpants. Made from a premium blend of cotton, these sweatpants provide a soft, cozy feel that's perfect for all-day wear. As the weather changes, remember that UA sweatpants can be worn with the school uniform. Pre-orders will close today, Friday, December 19, at Noon.

Report cards will be available on Monday, December 22, 2025, and can be accessed through Blackbaud.

• Tuesday, January 6, from 8 a.m. to Noon: Campus Christmas Clean-Up (Meet in the Front Office anytime)

• Friday, January 9, from 6:30-9:30 p.m.: Post-Holiday Parent Social in Wrong Iron's Smoky Mary Room

Parents are invited to join us on campus for a CloseUp Meeting on Thursday, January 8, 2026, at 5 p.m. in St. Ursula Hall. Please park in the State Street Parking Lot and enter campus via St. Ursula Hall. For questions regarding this event, please contact Chrissy Schlaudecker.

The Work Study Job sign-up is now open for the period from November 24-February 28. To sign up for a job, please visit the link here. Please contact the Business Office at business@uanola.org if you have additional questions about work study. Non-work study families can volunteer via this form as well. Many hands make light work!

Ursuline Academy is proud and excited to once again host our annual Bach Contest on Saturday, March 21, 2026. The Ursuline Academy Bach Contest, founded in 1960 by Sr. Elizabeth Marie Landry, OSU, began with piano and now includes a strings division, and is open to all students in the greater New Orleans area.

Registration for the 2026 Bach Contest is now open and due by Saturday, February 28, 2026.

If you have any questions, please email bach@uanola.org.

Each week, a designated student will take home an 11" resin statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor along with an intention card. Each intention card will be collected and remembered in prayer by our community. Students will be able to keep Our Lady in their home from Friday through Tuesday, returning her to school on Wednesday. 

In the spirit of community, we would love to pray for the special intentions of our Ursuline family. If you have recently lost a loved one and would like your family name to be mentioned during Mass, please submit a prayer intention via the form below. Please note that during our Academy Masses, we mention the names of families who have lost loved ones.

The K-7th Grade Winter Art Showcase will be held in St. Ursula Hall at 8 a.m. today, Friday, December 19, before the K-7th Grade Christmas Program. Parents, you are invited to join us to view our talented students' artwork and do some holiday shopping in the Spirit Store while on campus. Hot coffee will be provided!

Our annual Christmas Program will be held today, Friday, December 19, at 9:30 a.m. in Ursuline Academy's Auditorium. Doors open at 9 a.m.

Visitor sign-in is not necessary on this day. You may park in the State Street Lot and enter through the front of the Auditorium on State and Willow. The program will last about one hour and 15 minutes. Dismissal will be from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. Students must be checked out directly with their homeroom teacher in the auditorium or from the carport if you are not attending the program. There is no aftercare for T2-7th grades on Friday, December 19, and the front office will close at Noon.

Please spread the word about our K-7th Grade Open House on Friday, January 16, 2026. We'll offer tours of our beautiful 11.5-acre campus, visit our Kindergarten-7th-grade classrooms, and meet our dynamic students who will share firsthand just what it's like to be an Ursuline girl.

Check-in will begin at 8 a.m. Student-led tours will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. Please allow an hour and a half for the tour.

Ursuline Academy is excited to host its first Ultimate Author Day on Wednesday, April 1, 2026! Ultimate Author Day is an event dedicated to celebrating our students' accomplishments in writing, while giving them an opportunity to learn why the written word is so important and how it is used in many different careers. 

We are looking for anyone who uses their own words or someone else's to do their job to join us as a volunteer presenter on Ultimate Author Day! So if you are a children's book author, illustrator, judge, singer/songwriter, puppeteer, published physician, choreographer, film producer, comedian, technical writer, calligrapher, chef, magazine editor, news reporter/anchor, social media influencer, or anyone in between, we thank you very much for considering spending your morning with us on State Street! Please complete the linked form to indicate your interest, and we will be in touch with you soon.

• There is no aftercare for T2-7th grades on Friday, December 19, and the front office will close at Noon.
• ECLC's last day of school before the holidays is Friday, December 19, with dismissal at 11 a.m. The carpool line will begin at 10:45 a.m. No aftercare is provided on this day. Classes resume on Tuesday, January 6.
• Lily House's last day of school before the holidays is Tuesday, December 23. Classes resume on Monday, January 5.

• Lily House & ECLC Students can come dressed in flannel today and enjoy their Class Christmas Parties.